i fail it

I have been completely dysfunctional for two days, and today is apparently not much better.

Yesterday I had to finish some sewing before going to Twilight Market, which was not unreasonable, but I also wanted to wash my items because they got wrinkly. Also, reasonable, until I can't get them into the wash until 2:30, when I'm supposed to leave at 3:30.

I didn't get out the door until 4:00, the time I was supposed to be there, because I couldn't find anything. If I needed it I couldn't find it. On top of that I forgot my camera. So there are no pictures proving that SilentLotus, VintageHotcakes, hairycarrot, LzRocks, or CharmedbyNature were ever anywhere.

I managed to deliver the box of yarn that I wanted Cosy to have, but forgot the magazine pages I had ripped out especially for her.

So today I thought I could recover, as the only thing left to do was apply to Handmade Arcade. I'm pretty sure I screwed that up, too. I had everything perfect and then when I paid my fee, I forgot to put my name in the subject line of the paypal transaction, so I'm probably not getting in. Argh.

thingy

vintage thingy
I just got a box of yarn (after a bag of yarn) busting with old and vintage yarns. In the bottom was this crazy tool which comes apart. The base is pretty obvious to determine the use. You turn the knob at the bottom and spokes pop out. It's for making flower embellishments. It's one of those fancy ones, too. The spokes go in and out. When you're finished, you pop off the flower like they do on tv.
The thing for the top is a mystery to me. It fits in the holes on the base. I can't really see what you would do with it. It's not a cord loom because it lacks the center tube to extrude the cord. It has 4 posts, each with two spikes. It fits on the base by 2 posts, even though the base has 4 holes. There doesn't appear to be any difference in directionality. And you can extend and retract the spokes for the loom while it is in place. No idea, seriously.

be fast

This is what I want to do.
This is Lily Chin. She won the title in the international speed crochet competition. If this video was a little longer you would see just how much she is getting done.
I can be fast frequently, but her starting row is remarkable. Once you have the first row, the crochet tends to behave itself. Crocheting into a solitary chain is more difficult because it moves a lot. It is harder to control.

giotto top new yarn

giotto top new yarn, originally uploaded by hairycarrot.

This is the perfect match I found to complete my Giotto top. Even though I know I said it was finished, I hated the back. Now I can change it. The yarn is mission falls 1824 cotton.

Remember this?

It got worked on today. The back has been ripped out, and replaced with the lovely 1824 cotton. I was contemplating a lace panel, but I didn't like what I was seeing. The yarn didn't look like it matched as well with yarnovers. The last three rows of Giotto were knit with 2 strands of yarn together, and then the switch to just he cotton. The match really shows up well, and I expect to be finished tomorrow.

Twilight Market

Twilight Market, originally uploaded by hairycarrot.

1. go team pittsburgh!, 2. farmer's market, 3. new clothing rack, 4. satisfied customer

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

The Twilight Market is a great time. The nice thing about farmer's markets is that they are open for the season. I got incredible vegetables for a great price, and they were so much nicer than the store's. This is the only thing as good as shopping at Wegman's.

I bought a bunch of dill, and used it to make pickles. Since I have 6 cucumber plants I have a lot of cucumbers. They are just regular ones. I will never need to buy cucumbers.

It's a great time. The farmers are there every week, and we get to be there on alternating weeks.

I'm planning to be there.

I sold 2 items, which was about 15% of what I brought, so I'm happy. I also have some great inspiration for new items to make for next time. I haven't solved my hanger problem, which is that I need some with clippies. My sewing room is almost finished after I moved it from the basement to the spare bedroom. Double inspiration is that I have some company coming.

Sortof recycling

fused bags-4, originally uploaded by hairycarrot.

newspaper bag and grocery bag

I was intrigued by etsy's fused plastic bag tutorial, so I tried it for myself. Mine doesn't work the exact same way, but it's likely a difference in iron.

These are all made from 2-3 layers of bag, with the cut out words and letters (and handles) in between.

Here's how:

Setup. This is not a great kids activity. Irons are hot and plastic is toxic if you have a mishap.
Make sure you have good ventilation. If it smells bad when you do this, stop. If you can smell it, you can inhale it.

1. Cut the excess parts of your bags off. These are the seams and handles, plus any words you don't like. Cut open so you can lay them flat.

2. Layer 2-3 sheets of plastic flat on your ironing board. You should layer them between wax paper and/or copy paper. Test this to decide what works best with some scraps before you settle on the real thing.

3. Iron on the middle setting, whatever that may be. Press firmly and go quickly. Only about 5 seconds at first. Check to see if the bags have fused.

4. #2 plastic bags tend to shrink slightly when you fuse them together. Don't fuse a fresh piece of bag to a fused piece. This will result in different levels of tightening up, and the pieces will get holey. If you are using #4 plastic bags, they will shrink less. It is okay to mix them.

5. If the bags have fused to satisfaction, set on a hot pad and move to the next one. If more fusing is necessary, iron again quickly. Try only to iron on the parts that have not fused. The more you iron, the more the plastic shrinks.

6. The fused plastic can be sewn much like fabric.

For a completely fused piece without sewing - wrap the layers of plastic around something that they won't stick to. This can be a sheet of paper or wax paper, or a solid object wrapped in wax paper. Then you can iron the plastic together into a shape. Then no sewing is required.